The War In Italy

[Gerry Chester]

The campaign in Italy has been down-played so much that, regrettably, the efforts and sacrifices of the men of the many nations who fought there are fast becoming the detritus of history. As significant as are the figures quoted in Field-Marshall Alexander's summation of the Battle for Italy, as below given, they do not give adequate recognition of the calibre of the troops, both enemy and allied, that were engaged.

The value of battle experienced men has been acknowledged many times by commanders, one of whom, I do not recall who, said "A regiment that has been bloodied in battle is more valuable to me than a brigade that has not." The battle hardened Germans units that were tied up in Italy would have been as 'valuable' to the Wehrmacht in North-West Europe as the divisions transferred from Italy were to the Allies.

Alexander summed up the Battle for Italy in the following words:

'Any estimate of the value of the campaign must he expressed, not in terms of the ground gained, for the ground was not vital, in the strict sense, either to us or to the enemy, but in terms of its effect on the war as a whole. The Allied Armies in Italy were not engaged with the enemy's main armies and their attacks were not directed, as were those of the Allies in the west or the Russians in the east, against the heart of the German Fatherland and the nerve-centres of Germany's national existence. Our role was subordinate and preparatory. Ten months before the great assault in the west our invasion of Italy, at first in very moderate strength, drew off to that remote quarter forces that might have turned the scale in France. As the campaign progressed more and more German troops were drawn in to oppose us. The supreme directors of Allied strategy were always careful to see that our strength was never allowed to grow above the minimum necessary for our tasks; at one time and another during those 20 months no less than 21 divisions in all were removed from my command for the benefit of other theatres. The Germans made no comparable detachments. Except for a short period in the spring of 1944 they had always more formations in Italy than we had, and we made such good use of that brief exceptional period that in the summer of 1944, the crisis of the war, they found themselves forced to divert eight divisions to this secondary theatre. At that time, when the value of our strategic contribution was at its greatest, 55 German divisions were tied down in the Mediterranean by the threat, actual or potential, presented by our armies in Italy. The record of the comparative casualties tells us the same story. On the German side they amounted to 536,000. Allied casualties were 312,000. The difference is the more remarkable in that we were always the attackers. Four times we carried out that most difficult operation of war, an amphibXious landing. Three times we launched a prepared offensive with the full strength of an army group. Nowhere in Europe did soldiers face more difficult terrain or more determined adversaries.

The conclusion is that the campaign in Italy fulfilled its strategic mission."

Let us not forget!

[Kiwiwriter]

I, for one, have never forgotten the Italian campaign. Everybody was there.

[Paul Reed]

Gerry - a small group of us visit the Italian battlefields every year. We are seeing an increasing number of visitors who sign their names in the cemetery visitor's books. I also get a lot of visitors to the Italy section of my website. So, while it is not as well known as Normandy, interest in Italy seems to be growing.

[sappernz]

In New Zealand the Italian campaign is very well remembered It is where the 2NZEF suffered its highest casualties. I remember my Father and many other " grim digs" all now sadly gone, talk of the mud, the poverty unlike any here had known, the bonds that grew with ordinary Italians and obviously the terrible battles, especially Cassino.
I would hope the importance of the campaign, any campaign for that matter , in the Allied victory , is never trivialised or forgotten.
The men do not deserve it.

[DirtyDick]

The Italian front was also the key battleground for the South African Union/Commonwealth forces in WW2 (after 1943), and supposedly the independent 6 SA Armoured Division was for some time, when joined by the Guards and some Indian units, the most powerful allied land force in Italy.

Gerry, did you have much contact with the 'Yarpies' in Italy?

Cheers
Richard

[colinhotham]

Do'nt forget the 38 day campaign in Sicily by the 7th and 8th Armies and especially the part played by the Canadian 1st Division. (see my post - Food for Thought).

Colin.

[jabett]

I was wondering if any of you have any information on the allied advance from Rome up to the Arno - June and July of '44. Particularly of the battles fought at Belvedere above Suvereto (by the US 100th - all men of Japanese descent) and Cecina.
Annything (however minimal) on this period would help me much towards a planned publication

As to Gen Clark on the other pages - no more info there thanks!

[Kiwiwriter]

Originally posted by jabett@Feb 5 2005, 12:14 PM
I was wondering if any of you have any information on the allied advance from Rome up to the Arno - June and July of '44. Particularly of the battles fought at Belvedere above Suvereto (by the US 100th - all men of Japanese descent) and Cecina.
Annything (however minimal) on this period would help me much towards a planned publication

As to Gen Clark on the other pages - no more info there thanks!

Quoted post

There are several books on the Japanese-Americans, and logically, I can't remember the name of the book on the 100th Battalion. I only remember the cover, showing half of Japanese male Hawaii standing at attention at a ceremony before they went off to war. One of those thigns that drive you nuts, I'm afraid.

[Gerry Chester]

Many years ago, when hurricane "Betsy" stalled over Eastern Louisiana /Western Texas, I lost far too many books, due to flooding, which were in temporary storage while our home was getting ready for occupation. Gradually, but oh so slowly, replacements have been found the most recent being "The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Alexander." The forward brings back vividly my feelings when first it was read.

"Two years ago I returned to the battlefields of North Africa and Italy. I am glad to have undertaken this pilgrimage because I feel that a commander should file for the record the work of his armies in the field. In particular, I was concerned that the Allied camXpaign in Italy should receive due recognition in history for its contribution to the general victory in the west. Strategic consideraXtions apart, the seemingly unending succession of mountain ranges, ravines, and rivers of the Italian terrain demanded the soldierly qualities of fighting valour and endurance in a measure unsurpassed in any other theatre of war.

Thus it came about that in the autumn of 1960 I left England for Cairo, by way of Athens, and thereafter followed the tank tracks of the British Eighth Army and of the Allied Armies, on the ground or from the air, across the Western Desert into Tunisia, and thence, by way of Malta and Sicily, the length of Italy to Trieste. I was accompanied by my two former Chiefs-of-Staff, Field-Marshal Lord Harding and General Sir Richard McCreery, afterwards to succeed to command of the famed Eighth Army, and by another friend, my collaborator, Major John North, who undertook the task of committing my thoughts to paper.

In the narrative that follows the reader will learn what reXflections passed through my mind as I revisited those battleXgrounds of the Mediterranean war which, although they have now passed into history, still vividly remain on the horizon of memory for the officers and men who fought over them."

Gerry

[morse1001]

"The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Alexander." The forward brings back vividly my feelings when first it was read.

I also have that book and when i bought it, I found tucked inside an article from the Times dated 17/10/1962 about how Alexander changed his offical despatch before publication which reveals that Alexander tried to claim credit from Monty.

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